Canoes & Motorhomes

spartacus

Guest
We are shortly setting off fulltiming and want to take our canoe with us - we hope to travel both in the UK and Europe and take advantage of rivers and lakes as the opportunity arrives. I'm thinking motorhoming/wildcamping and paddling will be a good combination :)

The boat is a 15' "Canadian" style canoe which weighs 25kg. I'm looking at transporting it on the roof by fitting Fiamma roof rails and a Thule bar system with dedicated canoe mounts and straps. Hopefully this should give it enough clearance above the roof lights/vents. Then I have to get it on and off the roof - the van is 2.8M high :eek:

I'm wondering if this is practical/safe, has anyone else done this? Any advice??

Stephen
 
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hi spartacus,
we to are soon to start full timing and we seem to have the same sort of trip in mind.
we looked at getting a canoe .and in the end we have gone for a sevylor
colorado inflatable canoe, reasons for our chose are simple it came in a bag so will be easy to store and easy to take to the waters edge.
just never fancy climbing up on top of van.
 
One thing I would possibly purchase is a extentable ladder, it is ideal for moving around the M/H without having to walk on the roof when you are lashing your boat down, I have carried a kayak for years, really need to sort some bars out for my M/H. I'm not sure on the price of the ladders but Ive seen them on ebay, they store at about 1 metre. Enjoy your trip.

Tom
 
I've seen various arrangements to load smallish aluminium boats onto roof racks using a rolling frame.

http://www.customboatloaders.com.au/ is way over the top for your needs but the general layout would suit and tieing down a canoe at ground level has to be an advantage. I'm sure a half competent welder could knock up something.
 
canoes

Have you looked at the inflatables by stearns.These are excellant ,fit nice into a back or top box.Very good in the rivers or sea ,very stable,had many hours of fun ,in this country and france.
 
chubsta said:
hi spartacus,
we to are soon to start full timing and we seem to have the same sort of trip in mind.
we looked at getting a canoe .and in the end we have gone for a sevylor
colorado inflatable canoe, reasons for our chose are simple it came in a bag so will be easy to store and easy to take to the waters edge.
just never fancy climbing up on top of van.
Click to expand...

That's a great choice! We bought a Sevylor Amazon 2 years ago and it's ideal for easy carriage. It performs very well in the water and I've even slept in it under a tarp! I bought double paddles instead of the Canadian style as that makes it more manoeuvrable if you're solo. The tough green canvas outer shrugs off rocks and is very comfortable to the touch. I do prefer something like a Coleman for dedicated canoe travel but for opportunist messing about on the water the Sevylor takes a lot of beating.

Good luck with your travels - it sounds really exciting!
:cool:
 
I have a kayak, we carry it inside the van, but then we do have 8ft headroom. I would prefer a canadian style as am now getting a bit too wide for the kayak, so if you fancy a swap do let me know.
 
We tow a 3.1mtr Zodiac inflatable with 15hp outboard which I am in the process of selling as it's too heavy at 50kg and hope to buy a 9.8hp 2-stroke which is only 29kg.

We hope to visit some of theose lovely French lakes shown on the holiday and house swap programmes on TV, so if you find some nice spots PLEASE let us know... perhaps we need a boat launch + wild spot section!?!

Good luck & stay in touch.
 
Roger, thanks for the kind offer - the only time I tried a kayak I spent more time upside down :D

You're bang on with the French lakes Nosha - we'll be looking for them: van parked up on the shoreline, bread, tomatoes and cheese, sun glistening on the water, should I go for a paddle or start on that bottle of red .............

Have a look at this to whet your appetite: www.songofthepaddle.co.uk

The dealer's confirmed today that the roof rails can be fitted to accomodate the Thule bars, so it's all systems go :D:D
 
TWS said:
One thing I would possibly purchase is a extentable ladder, it is ideal for moving around the M/H without having to walk on the roof when you are lashing your boat down, I have carried a kayak for years, really need to sort some bars out for my M/H. I'm not sure on the price of the ladders but Ive seen them on ebay, they store at about 1 metre. Enjoy your trip.
Tom
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

Have a chat to our Darren, what he doesnt know about Fiamma isnt worth knowing!

Peter
 
Making a long trip with canoe is very interesting. I am jealous with you. I think that you don't need to worry too much. It is not too dangerous when going camping like that. You only have to pay attention to the rocks in rivers because it might destroy your canoe.
 
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